Patron of Reading

I spent two years at Clifton College as a Patron of Reading and had lots of fun. I hope the next Patron finds new and interesting ways to encourage the children to read and enjoy books.

The school is well equipped and the libraries so marvellous that most children do read a huge amount. It was the students from other countries where English was a second language who were struggling but I had some great sessions with them too.

One very interesting phenomenon I noticed when judging the story competition was that the children who hand wrote their stories did much better than those attempting to use a computer. Computer generated work was never read through properly and often made no sense. Good old pencil and paper!

This page is for the staff and students to leave me a comment or to write me an email !

March 3rd – My first day of workshops and talks at Clifton College.

I saw lots of people reading. Do write and tell me what those interesting looking books were. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. I welcome any comments from the children and staff of all the schools I visit.

Here is the wall outside the Clifton College Pre Library. I am a bit horrified to see my ugly mug up there, but at the same time proud. The pupils at this school love reading.

Many thanks to Ms Jones (Pre Librarian) for making this great display.

Ms Jones has also got some of my books on show in the library. We chatted recently about the Carnegie shortlist and what makes a good book and why some books are just so hard to put down. I took away THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green to read on the librarian’s recommendation. I’m looking forward to that.

Meanwhile I have the Easter Reading competition to judge. I was hoping for picture postcards but I didn’t tell the librarian and Ms Jones very kindly made some special forms for the children to fill in. Thank you!So to make up for not getting pictures I now have some delightful book marks:

Now I’ll never lose my place in my book again.

9 Responsesso far.

Thanks for the great sessions you did with year 5 and 7 today! They all had a fantastic time. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Hope you have your animal book character costume at the ready! Happy Book Week to you.

Rebecca Clear (Pre Librarian)
Currently reading – She is not invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Currently reading – She is not invisible by Marcus Sedgwick – a rip roaring adventure with some maths in it, so even Mr Clear (Head of Maths) wants to read it next!

Hi Rebecca – I have now received a copy of the Dog in the Diamond collar for 5AT, which I ordered for them from the USA, as they were so desperate to read it after Anne read them the first chapter! It will be available in the Library after the Easter break from Mrs Jones.

As I am leaving on 20th April, I would just like to thank you from the Pre Library for agreeing to be our Patron of Reading and helping our students to develop a love of reading and creative writing!

Hope you get this… I’m so sorry you’re leaving Clifton College as you have been such a lovely person to work with.
I do hope you’re going to find peace and happiness wherever you go.
Happy Reading,
Becky

We have finished The Dog With The Diamond Collar this afternoon.
Hugo: I liked the way it seemed as if it was a simple story and I thought I knew what would happen but I didn’t. It was like a wiggly line.

Hetti:I found it funny especially when Joe tripped Mr.Cheeseman into the pond and he came out with weeds all over him and the ducks were angry.

Eva: I liked how you named Mr Cheeseman because it was a ridiculous name. I also liked how he stepped in the gorilla poo and how you described the bears’ cave.

Joe:I liked it because it was adventurous. It had lots of suspense and big problems.

Eddy:I found it hilarious especially Theo because he always thought he was older than he was. I enjoyed the mystery around Mr Cheeseman.

Gemma: I laughed when they dressed the dog in the baby clothes.

Alexis: I like Timothy because I also like animals. I would like to go to his safari park but I would not like to stay in a cage.

I am so pleased you enjoyed the Dog in the Diamond Collar.
Gemma thank you for your email, it was good to hear from you.
I absolutely ADORED Hugo’s idea of the story being a wiggly line. That’s a great thought because that’s what it feels like to write, you know where you’re going but it takes quite a long time to get there!
I’m thrilled that Gemma, Hetti and Eddy found it funny. It is hard to make the words into pictures which you can see and laugh at.
Alexis, I like animals too, that’s why they always feature in my books.
Eva, I agree, Mr Cheeseman is a ridiculous name!
Joe thanks for saying the story had suspense. That’s what I was aiming for.